Use of Animal Models in Molecular Imaging

Modern preclinical research is continuously using imaging techniques to provide scientific results useful for human medicine. The imaging techniques provide either morphological or volumetric presentations of the organs of interest, hemodynamic measures of the cardiovascular system, and/or semiquantitative/empirical parameters of the cellular metabolism and function [1]. Disease progression is followed noninvasively over time in experimental animal models, providing information about pathophysiologic characteristics that mimic human diseases [2]. In parallel, focus emerges regarding reduction of both suffering and the number of experimental animals used per study, in accordance with the principles behind 3 Rs for good animal ethics in research: replacement, reduction, and refinement [3]